This New Year
by bxblover
Summary: Seto reluctantly holds an exclusive New Years Eve Dance Party. Who knows, even the clumsiest can make beautiful music on the dance floor… More intellectual than it sounds. YxY SxJ BxR TxD MxM YAOI. Chapter 2 up: Ryou and Bakura.
1. Monday Night

THIS NEW YEAR

"Duck!"

An antique vase flew in the air before it crashed into the wall, shattering into dozens of pieces. Five cautious heads rose from their hiding spots, attempting to look out for further chance of attack.

"I don't know why I even bother!"

"Will you listen to me for once?!"

"Listen to THIS!"

"Incoming!"

The five heads dropped for cover behind their designated shelters as another piece of china smashed against the wall.

The heads came up again, even slower this time. The one with wide violet eyes warily came up from his spot behind the side table, his big hair concealed by a large pan he recovered from the battlefield/kitchen. He was the nearest to the line of fire, and had a good yet safe vantage point. The boy peeked past the wall and after a second, nodded to the others. The blonde, the white, the tri-colored, and the brunette all stood up from their points of safety.

"Those two have the weirdest relationship this side of the Pacific Ocean," Joey Wheeler said. The blonde was a very ambitious, if not a slightly impulsive boy with a heart as golden as his hair. Due to poor care from his father, Joey was a little skinny, but muscular enough to defend any of his friends in an instant, which was where almost all his loyalties lay. His friends, and that of his sister Serenity, the only person in his life that he actually loved.

"Agreed," Said the little albino blonde. Also known as Ryou Bakura, affectionately known as Ryou since he and his yami counterpart simply known as Bakura had discovered a way for all the yami's and hikari's to have their own bodies; including each other. His yami Bakura was once a tomb robber and the King of Thieves in the days of the Egyptians. He used to be a cruel killing machine. However having his own body cooled him down immensely. Ryou was almost the polar opposite of Bakura; the innocence exuded from him made Snuggles the Bear look like a murderous blood-sucking pedophile.

Ryou's sweet disposition was very similar to that of the purple-eyed boy Yugi. The shortest of the bunch, he was more or less a mixture of his friend's Joey and Ryou: completely innocent, yet deeply devoted to his friends. He was known as the more adorable one of the lot, his big violaceous eyes threatening to overtake his features when they widened as he at last removed the pan from his head, the tri-colored locks practically popping back into position. "It's not all bad. They're just having…another…fight."

The taller, yet similar looking man to Yugi put a hand on his hip. "Am I the only one to notice that's the third one this week? And it's Monday!" Like Bakura, this yami was also a spirit from the Egyptian times. Only this boy played a far more significant role: He was Pharaoh Atemu, the King of Games. He was given a choice to return to his resting place in Egypt, but for reasons known only to him, he had chosen to remain in this time. And instead of being referred to as 'Pharaoh' or 'Atemu,' he much preferred his other name, Yami.

Yami did look very much like his counterpart, however his appearance was more of the mature nature and unlike Yugi, he loved being able to show off his sexily slenderous form. Currently his body was encased in a red muscle-shirt and a pair of skin tight Daisy Dukes.

"Aw, come on Yams. Every couple goes t'rough deir own problems," Joey interjected.

"Yeah, just look at me and Duke," said Tristan, the eldest of the group. His tall, well-muscled frame made him a potential target for many; of both sexes.

But he fell victim to love, and for eleven months he'd been living with his fourteen month boyfriend, Duke Devlin.

"Oh please!" Joey muttered, grabbing the controller and taking his place back on the sofa, careful to avoid the various debris of pottery and china. "You and Duke haven't had a fight since you spilled Hollandaise on his then-favorite leather pants."

Tristan chuckled at the memory, and being the clean-freak he now was, he began gingerly picking up the various shards. "I remember how mad he was too. Supposedly those were 'inherited jeans' passed on by his grandma. …Who knew women wore leather pants in the twenties?"

Yami chuckled deeply at this, striding over to the sofa where he promptly leaned over the arm of the couch, without bending his knees, which on its own made Yugi and Ryou blush a little. "I only wish," he purred.

This caused Tristan to chuckle slightly, while Joey burst into a downright fit of laughter. "Yeah, 'cuz we all know the rest of the world want's to see your can in a pair of painted-on leather pants."

Yami grinned at this, and flirtatiously winked at his friend. "You know what they say: If you've got it, flaunt it," his eyes shifted slyly to the far left, as if trying to admire his own derriere.

"Aww, and we all know you've got it, don't we hot stuff," inquired Tristan playfully, pausing momentarily to smack Yami square on the ass.

Yugi and Ryou flushed scarlet for their friend, who was shamelessly grinning back at Tristan. "You better believe it."

Joey laughed again, and pressed a button on the remote, his face instantly changing into that of dismay. "Aw man, I don't believe this I missed my favorite show because of those two!"

Yugi recovered from his flushed face, and rolled his eyes at his friend's complaint. He made his way to the sofa, and leaned against the back of it, his hands cupping his cheeks as he muttered reassuringly. "Don't worry Joey, I'm sure _The Simpsons_ will be on some other time."

"N'yeh, shaddup!" The blonde complained, crossing his arms huffily as he settled for _Everybody Loves Raymond_, a large unopened bag of chips in his lap.

Frowning at the blonde's choice of words, Yami reached forward and snatched the bag away from Joey. "Hey!"

Yami casually tossed it to Yugi, who had to clutch it in a hug in order to catch it.

"Be nice Joey," the dark scolded.

This caused the blonde to mutter under his breathe while the Pharaoh's hikari had started blushing again, but for a different reason.

He enjoyed that his Pharaoh was always willing to help him, as he was for all of his friends. But the fact was made all the more special by the…well…by the growing attraction he was starting to feel towards his Yami.

The boy realized that his attraction wasn't the most pure, and it perhaps wasn't a good idea to want to get involved with a yami, but he knew it wouldn't be long before the Pharaoh finally accepted someone else's offer. Oh, Yami got many requests for dates; trips to the movies or out to dinner, but each time without fail, the dark would smile sweetly, blink slowly, and politely decline.

These constant refusals gave Yugi a bit of thrill, the fact that despite the Pharaoh being able to have almost anyone he wanted, he would always say no. Perhaps his standards were a bit higher than an average person. And why not? He used to be a king of Egypt, able to call upon anyone to service him. And back then it was _literally_ everyone.

Nowadays it was a similar situation, since a few weeks ago Yami had officially announced that he was bisexual. This thrilled Yugi even more, giving him hope that he had a chance. Hope that he probably didn't have a right to possess, but he sure as hell did.

"So, what's everyone's New Years Resolutions?"

Joey flapped his hand dismissively. "Naah, I ain't got one. I figure what's the point in making a promise to meself that I know I'm just gonna break in less than a month."

Ryou giggled. "I used to feel that way too."

Yami smiled at the pale child. "Used to, as in the past tense Ryou-chan?"

The lad nodded firmly, and crossed his arms in determination. "Yes. I finally realized that with Bakura around I can't really afford to be so…mild-mannered if I wish to still have a say in my own house. So I've made the resolution 'Be Bolder'."

Joey nodded reflectively. "Sounds good Ryou." He craned his neck over to Tristan. "What about you Taylor?"

Tristan smiled ruefully. "Attempt to restore my manhood by behaving less like a housewife."

Said the man who was currently using his own handkerchief to wipe dust from a shelf on the bookcase.

Yami rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm promising to try to get more sleep. My sleeping pattern's been a little off and my night life is suffering because of it."

Tristan raised a brow disbelievingly. "You're gonna look at a weird sleeping pattern all together when you're done."

The Pharaoh nodded with decisiveness. "Indeed. But is it my fault there aren't enough hours in the day?" He shrugged at his own question and smiled softly at his aibou. "What about you little one?"

Yugi blushed again. He was afraid someone would ask this. His resolution wasn't perhaps like most people. His was to ask Yami to be his boyfriend by the time the clock struck twelve. He wanted it to be perfect, just like in the movies. The very romanticism of the concept caused the boy to turn a deeper shade of red.

"Aibou, you're turning awfully red. Naughty resolution perhaps?" The Pharaoh questioned smugly.

The little one pursed his lips at this. "N-no!"

There was a slight curl to the older duelist's lips, indicating the onset of a smirk. Oh, Yugi prayed not. His Yami had a killer smirk; one that made him go weak in the knees and turn pink.

To hide his face from the oncoming leer, the boy pretended to become fascinated with the ingredient list on the bag of chips. He knew he was only making the situation worse, but better he be laughed at than falling faint from that cruelly beautiful smirk.

"Aww, I betcha I know what he's planning!"

Yugi's eyes almost popped out of his head when they widened. He looked up from the bag, and was met with two grinning faces, and two curious ones. Thankfully, Yami was one of the curious ones. "You do not!" He yelled to Joey.

The blonde smirked at him. See, now, he didn't feel a thing.

"You wanna lose your virginity!"

His mouth fell open, causing Joey to burst out laughing again, almost howling as he fell to his side on the large sofa.

The little one made a quick scan of the room to survey the damage. Ryou was blushing, nothing new so he was safe there. Tristan was attempting to hold back laughter, but was giving him a persistent glance. But Yami…Yami looked shocked, his mouth open and his beautiful eyes widening.

"Is that true Aibou," his dark questioned carefully.

Borderline infuriated at the sudden invasion of his personal life, Yugi tossed the chips back to Joey, hitting him right on the head. "It is NOT. If there was something like that happening anyway, it wouldn't be anybodies business but mine. My new year's resolution happens to…to be to try and gain a little weight."

At this his yami smiled, almost like he was happy at this change. Yugi didn't quite understand that, but he let it go.

"Whew!" Joey said dramatically. "That's some good news pal. You are getting' a bit skinnier dan usual lately. What'samatter, Yami try his hand at cooking?"

This earned him a glare from the Pharaoh, and a pillow to his face. "Ow!"

The boy growled playfully, facing the Yami on the other end of the couch. He lunged forward, grabbing the other teen's shoulders, and a few forceful pushes from the other began a full-blown wrestling match. Seeing the spotlight finally off of him, Yugi started giggling at his friends' exploits.

"Careful guys, you're gonna hit glass," Ryou warned through his laughter.

The two were completely oblivious, Yami pulling on Joey's leg until he was in an Ankle Lock. "Damnit you, get offa me!"

"Tap out Joey!"

"NEVER!"

The blonde quickly slipped his ankle out of the other mans grip and turned the tables, leaping up and pushing the Game King on his back. "Haha! I gotcha now!"

"Not for long!"

"OW! No pinching you cheater!"

"Oh come on, who's cheating?"

"Gee, I wonder."

"Ahh! Would you stop trying to cop a feel from me?"

"Oh that's what they call it now, huh?"

"Hey!"

The two looked up, greeted by the looming figure of Tristan. During their little fight they had managed to turn the coffee table on its top, exploded the bag of chips, and removed a cushion from the sofa. They were in trouble…

Tristan smiled warmly. "Careful. You're about to roll into the porcelain coffee cups."

They grinned up at their friend, making the uninvolved ones still standing behind the sofa giggle. Yami used this sudden distraction to his advantage, and leapt up to Joey, effectively pinning him before the blonde rolled them over, putting himself on top again.

By this time, Yugi had a hand in front of his face, concealing the loud fits of laughter threatening to bubble up from his throat.

"You can tell _someone's_ used to being on top," Joey snickered.

Both hikari and yami gasped at these words, and Joey grinned, taking full advantage of the situation by rolling the boy until he was on his back.

A speculative finger on his cheek, Ryou said, "Anyone else getting flashbacks from _The Lion King_?"

Yugi's lips twitched at this, and he heard a slight raise of laughter befo---"OH SHIT!"

They turned their attention to the kitchen, listening for any further signs of distress before they heard another shout. "Oh, damn!"

Like synchronized dancers, they turned to Tristan, who was clutching something in his lap, his face tightened into a grimace. "Christ, I knew I shouldn't have tried to pick those up without gloves!"

He held up his hand, which was bleeding like a stuck pig.

Ryou gasped, and looked around for a towel. Before he had met Bakura, the very sight of blood on _television_ was enough to make him go ghostly white in his face. However, being around an ex-thief and murderer twenty-four-seven had rendered him almost immune to any gore. He could even watch horror films now, and he only got nightmares on rare occasion.

Even the two wrestling partners stopped in their activities to assist their friend in any way they could.

"God Tris, are you stupid or something? Common sense dude!"

"Honestly Tristan, one of these days this clean-freak-house-maker jag you've gotten into is going to be the death of you."

Tristan pressed his other hand to the back of his left, trying to apply enough pressure to stop the bleeding. "Oh jeez," he moaned as Ryou and Yugi approached him with dry washrags.

"Calm down, it's not that bad," Yami said, trying to examine the wound through the blood.

"It's not that. Potato chips can be swept up, a cushion and a table can be put back in place, but blood is such a NIGHTMARE to get out of a woven carpet."

Joey gave him a bemused glance as he raised the damaged hand to give the hikari's better access. "You never quit, do you?"

Steadily, they wrapped his hand in the washcloth. "Do we need 911," the little albino asked in concern.

There was a stereo shout of, "NO!"

He squeaked and jumped back a little at the loudness. "Sorry! I just thought I should ask."

Patiently, Yami patted his friend on the shoulder. "It's okay Ryou. If we called 911 every time blood was drawn at this house the ambulance driver would have to live here to save time."

Ryou smiled at the Pharaoh and nodded, before turning his face back to the current crisis. "It really doesn't look too bad. I'm pretty sure there's a first aid kit in…" he frowned as he realized another dilemma.

"Where is it Ryou?" Joey asked as he replaced the bloodied washrag with a clean one.

"The…kitchen."

Tristan moaned again, clutching at his hand.

Yugi patted his back. "It's okay Tristan; there's a spare kit in the medicine cabinet of the upstairs bathroom."

The brunette smiled at his little friend. "Say, thanks Yug! I'll head up there. You guys can go back to whatever."

As the tallest made his way up the stairs in a nearby hall, Joey put his hands on his hips indignantly. "Hey! How dare you call a professional wrestling match 'whatever'?"

Noticing his friend's memory, Yami grinned fiercely before he leapt onto the blonde's back in a piggy-back fashion.

"Hey!"

"Get along little _doggy_!"

Ryou snickered, pulling out a couple moist towelettes his friends could wipe their hands on. "He got ya there Joey."

"Hey, hey, hey! Only dice boy can call me that, and that's just for special occasions."

Yami grinned, finding a perfect opening. "Oh really? I thought that's what Seto told you in bed."

This was too much for the little ones. Ignoring the moist towelettes and their sticky hands, they fell on their backs in a fit of hysterical laughter as Joe's face turned three shades of purple.

"Oh you are SO DEAD right now!"

The blonde spun in numerous circles, desperately trying to reach behind his back to catch the pointy-haired boy, succeeding only at pulling said hair.

Suddenly grinning to himself, Joey looked around and charged the wall near the entry door, head on. All of the other three heads looked at the boy as if he was crazy.

"Joey, what are you DOING?"

He didn't say anything, only got a couple feet from the wall, and abruptly turned around, slamming his back into the barrier.

"Ow! Damnit Joey!"

Ignoring the voice behind him, he slammed into the wall again, this time twice as hard. The impact made him stumble forward before he fell to a crash on his side; his plan all but backfired, for Yami was a little stunned from the pain himself. The two were still interlocked, and the position of the two boys was just redolent enough to make the other ones break out into gales of laughter once more.

All four of the men were in that exact position on the floor, when Bakura, Duke, and Seto Kaiba walked into the house. The three stood where they were for a moment, observing the scenery: Two of the men locked in a highly suggestive position, and the other two clutching their stomachs, all four of them on the floor, and many pieces of broken glass and porcelain.

Duke clapped his hands on his sides in frustration. "I swear! I always miss the fun parts."

Tristan's boyfriend was very slim, despite his multiple complaints of an expanding waistline. His black hair set off his devilish green eyes almost perfectly. Similar to the effect a pure emerald had against black velvet. Though he and Tristan were perhaps the most shameless flirts to ever be seen, their devotion to each other was unrivalled. Duke Devlin was also the creator of a play off the card game Duel Monsters known as Dungeon Dice Monsters.

The other male, Seto Kaiba, was the brown-haired blue-eyed CEO of Kaiba Corporation, a company he obtained from his step-father and shared the responsibility of ownership with his little brother Mokuba. They created Duel Monster supplies and nowadays even made new cards. It used to be assumed that Seto was a very cold, uncaring human being. Lately however, for some reason known only to him, his icy visage had cooled a little, and he was now even hanging out with their 'group' every now and then. Although he certainly couldn't resist jabs every once and a while to the Mutt, a.k.a. Joey.

"Who knew broken dishes counted as a good time," he asked the other teen snidely.

"Oh shut up Kaiba. Hey guys, what's going on here?"

Yami finally detached himself from Joey, straightened, and considering his little shorts had hiked up somewhat during his skirmish with the blonde, yanked them down. "Well, the broken dishes are due to a little…disagreement between our hosts."

Knowing what that translated into---one of them had another hissy-fit---all three of the new-comers smirked.

"We were on the floor just for some wrestling."

Kaiba's smirk widened and he passed it down to Joey, who still had yet to rise from the carpet. "Just like a Mutt. The floor is always the location of choice for…_wrestling_."

Joey's mouth tightened, but before he could do anything to respond, Yami continued. "And the other ones were on the floor," the boys had started standing, "because they were laughing at us."

Given an equally perfect opening as Yami, the smirk spread into a wide grin as the CEO said, "Wow. Your technique is THAT bad Mutt?"

This time the teen stood up to lunge at the brunette when there was suddenly an enthusiastic interception from Bakura, "Hey! We really DID miss the fun! What's with the blood?"

All the heads in the room turned to Ryou and Yugi's hands. In unison they looked back up at the group, then pointed to the place in the carpet where Tristan's blood had dripped. "It's Tristan's. He was---"

"What!?" Duke shouted. He rushed over to Yugi, and grabbed his shoulders in a panic. "What did you do? What happened to him?"

Yugi waved his hands in an 'I surrender' gesture. Although since they were currently covered in dried blood that belonged to the panicked mans boyfriend, that didn't reassure the gambler very much. "It's okay, he was just trying to help clean up the glass on the carpet and he accidentally cut himself."

"My ears are burning."

The guys all looked back at Tristan, who chose to make his entrance then, one hand wrapped in a white bandage.

Duke rushed over to him and gingerly held up the mummified hand. "Oh…didn't I tell you to start wearing gloves when you do things like this?"

The taller one grinned and looked down at their joined hands. "Haven't I told you to wear gloves when you trim the lawn?"

The ebony haired man ignored that, and with a sigh, "Is it bad?"

Tristan shrugged. "Stings like a son-of-a-bitch because I had to put some alcohol on it, but that's it."

Duke smiled, and using both of his, he lifted the bandaged hand to his lips where he pressed a soft kiss. "Better?"

The brunette smiled at his boyfriend, and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Much better."

"Aww, is there a violin in the house," Bakura questioned rudely.

Ryou, who had made his way over to his darker half elbowed him harshly.

"Hey, I'll take a syrupy love-fest between those two over a feud from hell with the other two," Joey said wryly.

Kaiba looked past the gang towards the kitchen. His expression turned confused at the odd silence. "I thought you said they were fighting?"

Yugi nodded, and finally made use of the moist towellette. "They were, but they went into their soul rooms a little while ago. Haven't come out since."

Duke slid to where he was behind Tristan, slipping his arms around the other boy's body so he was holding his wrists. Apparently being around his lover had tempered Tristan's urge to clean their host's home. A sad fact, since there was blood on the floor, just as much cracked ceramic as before, complete with little bits of potato chips lying around all over the place. "Meanwhile, Seto has something he'd like to tell you all."

Blue eyes widened before they passed a glare to Duke.

"What do you need to say Kaiba?"

The CEO crossed his arms and wrinkled his nose at the gambler, who was currently preoccupied with a spot on Tristan's neck. "Just that Devlin needs to keep his mouth shut."

His head tilted to one side to give his boyfriend better access, Tristan smirked and said, "Why? It can be put to such better use when opened."

Seto's eyes closed as if he was in great pain, and Joey put his hands to his ears. "La, la, lala, lada, dum! I can't hear you!"

Yami bit back a laugh while Yugi and Ryou hid their red faces. Bakura was the first to speak with a mocking chuckle. "Yeah, hahaha…"He put his fingers on his temple in grief. "That was SUCH and over-share."

Duke grinned, and continued to speak over his boyfriends flesh. "Continue Kaiba."

The CEO rolled his eyes, and angrily plopped on the one cushion left on the couch. He took a deep breath to prepare himself, almost as if he were telling them they all had cancer. "Well, it's New Years soon. And, usually there's this end-of-the-year celebration at Kaiba Corp. However this year we had to cancel because I chose to give everyone a vacation for the holidays."

Joey cast the brunette a bewildered glance as he gathered up the stray cushion and put it back in the couch so he could sit down. "You mean Scrooge was finally visited by the three ghosts of Christmas? Well I'll be it's a miracle!"

Yami, who had taken up a spot beside Yugi at the back of the couch, smacked the back of the blondes head. "Oww!"

The Pharaoh motioned for Kaiba to continue. However once he was given the floor again, Seto didn't seem to be able to gather his words correctly. "Anyway, I have no f---" He cut himself off and cleared his throat, continuing with a phrase everyone knew was different than the one he originally intended to say. "I have nothing going on and since there's usually at _least_ two parties that take…well I just thought….that is MOKUBA, didn't want to spend time alone in the mansion on Ne---"

"Kaibaaa," Duke warned, finally looking up from his work.

The CEO blushed, crossed his arms in a dissatisfied huff, turned so he wasn't looking anyone in the eye and said, "_I_…would like some company on New Years Eve, so I'm throwing a party."

The blonde snorted. "Yeah. All of us running around in tuxedoes and black-tie. Sorry. Not interested."

Duke grinned, and made some space between himself and Tristan, pulling his boyfriend along by his uninjured hand until they were directly in front of Seto and Joey. "It's not that kind of party," he said in a sing-song voice.

Kaiba actually blushed at this, and the worst assumption came from---

"Ooh! Pot party?" Questioned Bakura eagerly, who received a half-hearted slap from Ryou after the words left his mouth.

Joey grinned smugly. "I really doubt the high and mighty Mr. Seto "Money bags" Kaiba would subject himself to the lowness of _narcotics_," he said in a low stage-whisper, like it was a sin to say the word.

"Tch…" The CEO muttered, drawing everyone's attention his way. "Believe me, I've often thought about it. I have a brother to raise, a house to manage, and a company to run. Taking a roll of a joint or two has actually been a pretty tempting thought in the past."

Yami tilted his head speculatively at the blue-eyed boy. "Well? What stopped you?"

A self-mocking smirk spread across the brunettes face. "I have a brother to raise, a house to manage, and a company to run."

There was a slight chuckle amongst the group before everyone was taken aback by this sudden outburst of personal information from the CEO, especially considering he _never_ shared anything about himself.

Duke intercepted to ease the awkward silence. "Sorry. No pot, but there's gonna be plenty of this…"

The black-haired boy removed his hand again, and raised his hands up, snapping his fingers and shaking his hips.

Yami's face broke out into a blinding smile. "A dance party?"

Seto shrugged. "Something to do. I let my employees know they have the option of coming, but I doubt a lot of them will show."

Yami put one hand on the back of the sofa and jumped over it to land smack in the middle of Joey and Kaiba. "Count me in!"

Both the blonde and brunette lurched away from the teen, and said in unison, "somebody's eager."

The tanned boy ignored this and strained his neck to face his counterpart with an eager grin. "How about you, Yugi?"

The little one blinked. "Well, I'm not the best dancer."

Yami shrugged and flapped his hand. "So what; you're there to have a good time, whether you dance or find something else to do."

"Or someone," Tristan winked.

Yugi thought about this. If his friends were going he figured he would most likely have a good time. Also, at least now he had a guaranteed reason to talk to Yami on New Years Eve. In fact this would probably work out much better. They could dance together for a little bit, they would talk, and then when it was finally midnight Yugi could confess his love. Now it would _really_ be just like in the movies...

"Does that lost expression on his face mean yes?" Kaiba asked impatiently.

The boy blinked, coming back to reality, and saw Yami grin at him knowingly. "It does."

Little Yugi didn't know whether he was apprehensive or touched by the fact that his dark had so easily interpreted his expression.

The CEO next turned to Ryou and Bakura. "How about you two?"

Bakura shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do."

Ryou smiled. "Sure, it sounds like fun."

Tristan joined two fingers, put them to his forehead and saluted. "That's a yes over here."

All eyes turned to Joey, who pursed his lips in displeasure at being outnumbered. "Fine."

Seto grinned smugly. "It's decided then. I've already called your little girlfriends and given them an invitation."

Ryou's brows knitted together. "What girlfriends?"

Bakura gave Ryou one of his many strange looks, one that the little boy had long ago learned to not take very seriously when directed to him. This look right now was, 'Are you STUPID or something?' "He's talking about Téa and Mai!"

"And Ishizu," Duke added. He then gestured towards the kitchen. "I doubt those two would show up if she wasn't invited. Speaking of which, are they allowed to come?"

Kaiba shrugged. "I don't care, just so long as they don't smash anything. This party is being held at the Kaiba mansion, and unlike those two, my breakable values are actually worth something."

Joey grinned widely, and slapped a hand to his mouth, shaking his head adamantly as if telling himself to hold it back.

Yami caught on, but wisely chose to ignore him, instead calling out, "Hey, Marik! Malik! Get in here!"

Yugi looked over at the Pharaoh. "They're in their Soul Rooms Yami."

After rolling crimson eyes, he then closed them to commune with the pair.

In a silent three or four minutes, the Ishtar's made their way to the living room, keeping their distance from one another.

Regardless of the many fights they had broken into lately, the yami and hikari were quite well matched. They were very close until recently, when Malik suddenly began getting the idea that Marik was cheating on him. What these claims were based on no one knew, for they rightfully kept it between each other. However, there were still promise rings on both of their fingers, so that gave the rest of the group some remaining hope for the pair.

"Seto's having a New Years Eve dance party at his mansion. He invited all of us, so do you two want to come along?"

Malik shrugged and crossed his arms. "I'd be more than happy to go. If _someone_ is willing to let me out of the house."

Marik rolled his eyes, but looked down at Kaiba with a polite smile. "Sure, we'd love to."

Seto nodded, and said "It's agreed then. Considering the number of people that I'll have to pick up, I'll probably need two limos…" the last part he seemed to be saying almost to himself.

There was again silence in the room, except for the television, which was now spouting out wise cracks from _My Wife and Kids_

All was well for a while, when suddenly, Malik let out a loud screech. "Aaahhh!"

Once again, all heads turned, and after all the twisting of their necks during the night, there was finally a loud cracking sound from each boy.

"Ohhhh…."

They were rubbing their sore necks as they cautiously looked at Malik. "Oh my Gods! What did you guys do to my house!?"

(Kaiba's limo)

Joey grumpily sat, his arms crossed in anger. His nose was wrinkled up in a furious pout. Damnit, why did it have to be him?

Yugi and Yami were getting home via Yami's new truck, Duke and Tristan could walk over to their place, Ryou and Bakura called dibs on Malik and Marik taking them home. They had to go see Ishizu apparently, so it wasn't out of their way to take someone home…those lucky bastards were just able to open their mouths faster. "Let me tell you something, I'm not the least bit happy about this!"

"Am I supposed to be, Mutt?"

Joey rounded on the other man in the limo. "Will you KNOCK IT OFF with the dog jokes? Seriously, after so many times you'd figure you'd get over them by now."

Kaiba just grinned. "Likewise."

Realizing what the brunette meant, Joey took the rather childish route, and stuck his tongue out at the other man before continuing to brood. "You know, I don't know why I accepted that stupid invitation of yours."

Seto reached into a small cabinet in the little table attached to the wall, and poured himself a glass of Coke. Joey snorted at this. Snobbish bastard…too good to drink pop out of a can, are we?

"Because you didn't want to be left out of the loop when you realized that all of your supposed friends were attending."

The blonde turned back to him. "That was a rhetorical question."

"I answered anyway."

"You didn't have to."

"But I did."

"Nyeh, shaddup!"

Seto only chuckled slightly, that sound soon followed by the soft clinking of ice in his glass as he took a sip. Joey took a second, studying the other teens profile. Seto Kaiba didn't seem like the type to do dance parties unless they were all fancy-shmancy, hoity-toity, black-tie to-do's. And he told him so. "You know, it's kinda weird that of all the options you had for celebrating New Years Eve, you go with a dance party."

Kaiba shrugged, and offered the blonde a sip of his Coke. Joey looked down at the drink, bewildered. The brunette drank from it himself, so it wasn't poisoned. He didn't look to be in any bad health. This was bizarre. Kaiba didn't share anything…meanwhile he was holding out the pop for the shorter duelist to sample so casually, as if he did it all the time. Cautiously taking the glass from the CEO's hands, and twisting it somewhat so they wouldn't be drinking from the same spot, Joey raised the glass to his lips, feeling a small bead of condensation catch on his lips. "I happen to be very light on my feet."

The limo driver pulled up to Joeys apartment swiftly, (God bless him), and Joey quickly handed the glass back to the CEO with a laugh. "Yeah, I'm sure I'll _love_ seein' that." He opened his door and rushed out of the car. "Thanks for the ride, seeya Friday!"

Joey didn't even turn back as he entered the raggedy building. If he had, maybe he would have noticed as Kaiba slowly ran his tongue over the spot where the blonde had drunk.

(Yami's truck)

"Seriously, doesn't it seem odd?"

"What seems odd, Aibou?"

"The fact that Kaiba's having a dance party. I mean, sure, lately he's been getting a little closer to us…I guess, but still. A dance party?"

The older of the pair shrugged as he made a wide turn. "I'm not complaining."

Yugi giggled. "You made it quite clear that you liked the idea."

Yami laughed in return, and pulled up into the driveway for the Turtle Shop. "What can I say? I like dancing."

Yugi got out of the truck, and rounded behind the bed of the truck until he met his other half were at the front door. Yugi was still the only one with an actual key, so Yami waited patiently for the boy to open the door. "Well, I can't dance for anything."

Yugi unlocked the bottom lock, and fumbled through his ring for the key to the deadbolt. "Surely you must know something about dancing?"

The light tilted his head. "Not even enough to fit into some dancing shoes."

The dark pursed his lips speculatively. "Well, looks like I'm going to have to teach you some things."

The little one smiled. "That would be great."

As the door opened, Yugi held it open for his yami to go first. As the spirit made his way inside, he leaned down, and whispered, "Besides, I'm dying to see you shake that little ass of yours."

He left with a soft whack to Yugi's behind, leaving a little boy blushing in the doorway, completely oblivious as his keys fell in the three-foot snow.

(Tristan and Duke's House)

"I don't believe this…so THIS is to be my fate then?"

"For Christ's sake, you drama queen! It's not like you're gonna die!"

"I am too," came the moan of dismay. "That's what it's gonna say on the certificate…death by chicken wings." Duke Devlin reached onto the platter and picked up yet another tiny poultry.

Tristan rolled his eyes at his boyfriend. "Believe it or not, you won't pop---no matter how many you eat, so how could you possibly die, other than maybe _choking on a bone_?"

These words, spoken in a certain tone that Duke knew his boyfriend had infused intentionally, caused the raven haired teen to spit out his current mouth full of breading and chicken.

Tristan burst out laughing, his boisterous voice cutting into _Queer Eye for the Straight Guy_.

His love turned up his nose, and looked off in the opposite direction. "You know, I have no idea why you're laughing; I have a legitimate problem!"

Tristan snorted, and leaned against Duke tenderly, but ineffectively. "Oh please. You're just fishing for compliments. What can I do to get you to stop?"

Duke turned back to him, and appeared to think it over. He snuggled down against Tristan until his head was on a pajama-clad shoulder. "You can reassure me that I'm not fat," he suggested with doe eyes and a little smile, putting his hand on the bandaged one of the brunettes.

He grinned knowingly at his boyfriend, and kissed his forehead. "Relax babe. If anything you're _underweight_."

"Aw! Thanks Tris," the dark haired boy told him. He kissed his lover gently before he locked his arms around him and pushed him to the end of the couch so they could be closer, abandoning their TV dinners.

After a warm cuddle shared between them, they turned their attention back to the TV, which was automatically set for a horror line-up on the movie channel. "You looking forward to Kaiba's party?" Duke asked conversationally.

The taller grinned. "You bet. It's a dance party. Let's just pray he plays good music."

"Amen," the other grinned before he looked into the hazel eyes of his lover. "You do realize a lot of stuff's gonna happen right?"

"At the party?"

"Yeah."

"Of course."

Duke tilted his head. In all seriousness, he said, "Really Tristan. I mean…with the guest list Kaiba's got here…there's going to be some serious drama this New Years Eve."

Tristan nodded. "I know. Bakura will make at least _one_ threat to blow up Kaiba Manor."

The slightly shorter one put his chin on his hand, resting his pointy elbow on a muscled chest. "People are gonna say some pretty…interesting stuff."

"Guaranteed at least one person will come out."

Duke smirked. "In that case, there'll be a lot more couples heading out than when we come in."

Tris thought to add, "There's without a doubt gonna be sex."

"Sparks flying."

"Catfights."

Completed with their list, the older thrust out his lower lip in reflective thought. "Well, all that can be summed up…"

Duke smiled down at his love, catching on. "In just one little phrase."

They grinned toothily at each other. "MALE HORMONES!"

The two burst into blissful giggles, embracing each other in happiness, bursting with anticipation of Friday night.

**Chapter one mistakenly reposted. This story will develop into a song-fic, and it will get VERY adult content. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh; this story is my baby, please review and let me know if you like it/what you think of it. Thank you for reading! **


	2. Still Monday

**C2 Monday Night, after everyone went home – Ryou & Bakura**

"After all…tomorrow is another day!" The loud overture sounded as the silhouette of Scarlett O'Hara returned to Tara.

Chocolate eyes watered, and a red hanky came to them to relieve the tears. "He actually left her! I can't believe that ending!"

An incredulous brow rose towards the other boy. "Ryou! Are you serious? That bitch had it coming!"

Ryou gaped at his other. "Are you kidding? That was a horrible way to leave!"

Bakura smirked at him. "Earlier in the movie you were complaining that he put up with too much from her."

The paler one pursed his lips. "Well, who knew that he would be so mean about his farewell?"

He shrugged. "It's not like he wasn't abused."

Finally coming to terms with that he most likely wasn't going to win this argument, Ryou sighed, and turned off the TV. "So, did you like it?"

"Hell yeah!"

Ryou smiled with surprise. "Oh really?"

Bakura nodded, a mysterious smile on his lips. "Yeah."

The pale boy bit his lip in happiness before something occurred to him. With a grin, he said, "And your favorite part was the Burning of Atlanta right?"

"Hell yeah!"

Ryou rolled his eyes in exasperated amusement. His yami used to scare him. But at a time Ryou had still yet to remember EXACTLY when, Bakura suddenly seemed almost harmless. Well…perhaps that was an exaggeration. He threw knives, he set fire to various appliances in the house on more than one occasion (whether this was intentional or not Ryou didn't know), and sometimes he was verbally mean to/about his friends.

"So twerp," Bakura jumped over the back of the couch and smacked Ryou good-naturedly on the back of his head, making his hair sway in front of his face.

He pursed his lips at his other, but dropped the remote, and decided to follow him. His yami didn't like repeating himself, and he was currently heading into Ryou's bedroom. "So, what?" The light came into the room just in time to see the double doors to his walk-in closet wide open, clothes being casually tossed out. "Hey! What are you doing?"

The yami came out holding up a couple of shirts on their hangers. "You decide what you're gonna wear yet?"

Ryou blinked. Not in surprise that his dark had ignored him. He was used to that. It was the sudden concern for his wardrobe that had him a little baffled. "Do you mean for Friday?"

Bakura gave him _that_ look again. "No, for Halloween! Yes, for Friday you numbskull!"

The pale boy blushed, watching as his other started tossing random articles of clothing on the bed. "Well…I-I didn't think it was really necessary, I mean it's a few days away."

Knowing he wouldn't be satisfied with that response, Ryou quickly dashed into the closet, filing through the various sweaters and pants left on the hooks, attempting to find the outfit that fit his first general idea. "B-But I did think of something."

He was always prompt and ready when it came to his yami. Usually it was because he was so accustomed to the times when they shared a body. If Ryou was quick to answer, and that answer was to his dark's satisfaction, then he would let the boy stay in control; at least for a little longer.

Smiling with pride at his findings, he produced a pair of black shiny pants and a dark gray turtleneck sweater.

Bakura backed away in disgust. It wasn't like his light would look bad in that outfit. Hell, the child always somehow managed to look sexy; whether he intended to or not. But he never understood why with that cute little bod the kid didn't show it off. And this was a _dance_ party for Ra's Sake. "Are you NUTS?"

The paler was obviously crestfallen at this response. Oh well. He should be used to it by now.

Whistling, the spirit went back to the little walk-in, digging around for something more revealing. "Seriously kid. As hot as you could be, you insist on minimizing everything you got."

His arms full, he paraded out of the closet, accidentally dropping a few items along the way. He knew he was making a mess. Oh well. The kid would clean it up later. Dissatisfied with the clothes he found there, he turned around to grab some more, and on his way back, he noticed the hikari had a blush on his face. Apparently, he wasn't used to blunt compliments.

"Why do you care what I choose to wear Friday anyways?"

Bakura stopped his activities, almost dropping a pair of khaki shorts on the floor as he pondered. Why _did_ he care? Well, because it would be nice to see the boy in something besides those sweaters and long-sleeves he wore all the time; even when it was ninety degrees out. Plus it would be pretty sexy to see how hot the light could be when he _tried_ to look good. Neither of which he would admit to the hikari, because he knew he would never hear the end of it. "We used to share the same body. Gotta make those geeks see that I at least had _some_ effect on you."

He then released a loud growl of frustration. Good God, did this kid have ANYTHING besides Cashmere sweaters and dress shirts?

Aggravated, he put both of his hands in a gap between the garments made by his selective grabbing from before, and swiftly split them far apart so he could glare at the off-white wall behind them.

Except…there wasn't just a wall.

A large, relatively flat cardboard box sat up against the wall, a few stickers plastered in various places. One of them had Ryou's name and address, a standard white sticker with a bar code. There was another one, bright pink, and it had his name written in a black sharpie, atop a black stamp. All together it stated, "RYOU BAKURA! CONGRATULATIONS!!!"

The last one was a pleasant blue, professionally stating, "Subscription Details Enclosed."

Intrigued, he picked it up, expecting for its size to be rather heavy, but it couldn't have weighed any more than a human head. Not that anyone should ask exactly how he had acquired enough knowledge to compare…

Making an abrupt change of subject---as he often did---Bakura once more stepped out of the closet, still staring quizzically at the package. "Hey! What the hell is this?"

He plopped the box on the bed, and Ryou came over to inspect the box, relieved at the change in topic. He tilted his head. "I don't know. I never opened it," he smiled at Bakura, his next statement soft. "I got it in the mail a couple years ago, but the idea of a subscription had my sister a little hesitant. She tends to get paranoid sometimes."

And he should care why?

But that was the problem. He did care. He cared TOO much.

It was so bizarre lately. When Bakura had first come into this life, Ryou irritated him, and just his presence was enough to piss him off, so he was a pretty mad character for a while. But after that he started to become attracted to the kid's innocence. There was so much of it, and in such a pure form, it was practically begging to be robbed right out from under him. A cruelly flirtatious remark that made the kid blush in shame was _more_ than enough to make his day. He was relatively happy then. Ryou wasn't happy, but Bakura didn't give a rat's ass.

Until he got his own body…

flashback

He didn't know how it happened. He was playing a regular game of dice in his Soul Room, and had gotten a little bored. The hikari had been silent for the past week or two. He had even managed to somehow close their telepathic link. When Bakura decided to take control, the hikari would just ignore him, and do some silent Ra-knows-what in his Soul Room.

So he finally decided to see what the little runt was up to. At last he finally mastered that trick the Pharaoh taught him so he could basically appear as a hologram to his hikari, and decided to try it out.

Once on the outside, escaping Ryou's notice completely, Bakura couldn't help but grin at the sight before him.

The child was hunched over dozens of random papers and a good number of books, the top of his pencil wagging back and forth as he wrote speedily. The desk chair had seen better days as it was almost ready to fall of its hinges, and the lamp attached to one of the shelves on the desk that normally had a glow bright enough to rival the sun was down to a tinted gold, barely casting light over the silent figure occupying the space, indicating that it had been in use for a long time.

Go figure. Homework. He probably had some big project coming up or something, Bakura really didn't pay attention to those things. What a dork.

He was tempted to loudly greet the boy, give _him_ a scare, and himself some amusement before catching some sleep. He yawned. No, maybe later. Nap now.

Bakura closed his eyes, basically willing himself back into his Soul Room and out of his hikari's world. His Soul Room looked mostly like his home back in Egypt; sack bedding and all. He plum collapsed over the oversized lump, used to the discomfort of hay sticking into his skin through the burlap.

When he woke up however, he was in much more comfortable surroundings. His body was nestled against something nice and firm, but his head was against something soft, accessorized with a scent that reminded him of the fresh honeycombs he used to enjoy as a child. There was also a sheet crisply lying over his sleeping form, soft enough however to be comfortable; especially since it was all so warm. Seeking more of the calm heat, the thief stretched out his legs, wiggling his toes, eager for the feel of the warm linen. This place felt so luxurious…it couldn't be his.

Brown eyes snapped open, and he was met with pale yellow wallpaper, and a nightstand complete with cough drops, an air freshener with yellow fluid inside, a strange alarm clock where the arms of Mickey Mouse were the ticking hands, a lamp, and a decent-sized book labeled '_The Life of a Dead Man_.'

Shooting up like a rocket, Bakura started to hyperventilate. This wasn't his Soul Room! And he knew for a fact that it wasn't Ryou's either.

'_Where the hell am I_,' he wondered frantically.

"You're in my bedroom," came a cheery voice.

Startled, he turned towards the sound, and was greeted with the smiling face of his hikari. There was a china cup and saucer in his lap, which he placed on the nightstand. He was close by, his feet playfully swinging back and forth in a padded rocking chair almost kicking the side of the bed. "Good morning, my yami. Can I get you some breakfast?"

Bakura studied the child. There was no way this was his hikari! Ryou was a weak, timid, shy little kid. But this one…he was confident. Immensely pleased with himself if that look on his face meant anything. But the strangest part was the fact that the light was being smiley, happy, and cheerful around _Bakura_! Sure, he did as he was told, but wherever Bakura was concerned, he was frightened, solemn, and introverted. Never in Ryou's life would he be so casually _offering_ to _get_ some breakfast.

'"_D-do you want me to pr-prepare your break-f-fast this morning, m-master Yami Bakura?"_

_Yeah! That's the way it should be. This kid might _look_ like my hikari, but it _definitely_ isn't him_!'

Crossing his arms, he grinned at the figure before him, knowing this was some kind of trick, probably set up by the Pharaoh.

The person giggled a little. Yet another sign that this couldn't be the real Ryou.

"It's really me, silly!"

Bakura rolled his eyes in disbelief. The reasons kept on piling up. Ryou knew better than to address him in such a disrespectful way.

There was an equal roll from the brown eyes across the room, and the impersonator stood up, casually making his way to the bed, and sat down across from the spirit.

He was then stared down, and Bakura was pinned. With a full view of his eyes here, it was plain that this _was_ his hikari. No other eyes exuded such purity. Such fragile innocence. "Bakura?" The tomb-robber blinked in acknowledgement, hearing a determination in the voice of the light. How foreign that trait was to the boy, yet it rolled off his tongue quite nicely.

"It IS really me! I was going through some old Egyptian scrolls I found in the attic, and used a hieroglyphics translator I got last Christmas. There was a ceremony engraved in the tablet to help us in the future. It lets yami's and hikari's have their own bodies, while still maintaining a primal link to each other. I wasn't sure it would work if I performed it by myself, seeing as how I'm a hikari and I'm not Egyptian, but clearly it did," he finished with a smile.

Bakura blinked again, trying to gather everything in his mind. It made sense, but he had never heard of such a ceremony, nor understood the need for it.

As if understanding, if not reading his thoughts, Ryou continued, "I suppose it was intended to prepare us for the separation from each other when all the Millennium Items were returned…a bit of a moot point now."

So that was it? He was free? He had his own _body_ now? For the first time in over three-thousand years his body and his soul were his _own_?

Ryou smiled sweetly. "I guess you'll be leaving then."

The tomb robber raised a brow at the child. He couldn't tell what that hopeful voice meant, and that disturbed him. However this did give him a perfect opportunity. He could run around for a bit, stealing what he needed here and there, then at some point maybe he could finally return to Egypt. Visit a few tombs, naturally doing the whole King of Thieves thing. It was perfect!

"I think I'll stick around for a while."

flashback end

And so he stayed. It wasn't so strange in itself. The strangeness came in when Bakura found himself _wanting_ to stay…where he was with Ryou.

His thoughts were jerked away when Ryou dropped to his knees, and lifted the comforter from the floor, and ducking his top half underneath it. "What the fuck," the thief questioned.

He then reappeared, holding a three inch knife. "What the fuck!?" He demanded.

The little one smiled innocently at him---quite a picture combined with the lethal blade---and proceeded to cut along the openings of the box. "Being around someone like you has reassured me of the importance of being prepared."

Should that be taken as a compliment or an insult?

Deciding to leave his mind out of the situation, the spirit cleared his throat, and crossed his arms, waiting for the brown-eyed one to finish cutting open the package. He was good with a knife. Bakura wondered briefly if it was due to the boy observing his own skill, and decided to save that question for another day.

The middle of the box split apart, Ryou put the knife somewhere else on the bed, and spread the panels until they wide open, and the content of the parcel was revealed.

Content that made Ryou blush and cover his mouth in shock, and Bakura fall onto the bed in shouts of outrageous laughter.

In the box laid over pale blue cotton fabric, was a top that was the epitome of kinky. There was a leather black collar that was intended to be draped over the chest and shoulders, and at one point on either end of the collar was a silver ring, attaching two ropes of chain, which were attached to each other via a large gold ring in the center meant to lie at the juncture between pectorals and abdomen on the body. The chains then continued to where they met a leather strip at the bottom of the 'garment', and continued in another layer on the back. In basic terms, the collar was similar to that of Egyptian neck jewelry, and there were draping chains in a criss-cross pattern across the torso.

"Oh my…"

Bakura wiped a tear from his eye. "Is that all you're gonna say, squirt?"

The paler boy wrinkled his nose in displeasure, then glanced at the outfit again in distaste. "Who the heck _wears_ something like this?"

The spirit, still chuckling, picked up the garment from the box, idly fingering the links in the chain. "Millions of people, kid. It's hot stuff."

In a loud 'hmmph,' the little one reached over and absently traced his finger over the collar. "It's so...weird. I never understood the appeal to all that..." he shuddered. "S&M stuff."

Smiling sinfully, tomb robber brought it down onto the sheets. "It's all about the trust."

Ryou tilted his head, not in confusion, only curiosity. "Trust?"

Nod. "Hell yeah! The erotic sense of being dominated. That someone has total control over your body and the pleasure you receive. They can give it generously and mercifully, or give it slowly and torturously. But it's the anticipation and the wonder of what's going to happen next that's the most arousing aspect of the whole thing. Combined with the knowledge that the only thing that you have to do is relax and wallow in the sensations while you're being…serviced."

He pinched at the leather, pleased with his own explanation, and looked up in eager anticipation to see the lighter boy blush in utter mortification.

…Well the blush was there.

The thief king watched the child's face with interest. There was just a bit of color on his slender face, localized to his high cheekbones, but it wasn't the red blush of embarrassment. It more so resembled the pink flush of…arousal. Brown eyes shined with heated fascination, and trembling lips were parted.

The darker grinned, but schooled his expression quickly, trying to fade back into oblivious nonchalance. He wanted to see what other kind of reaction he could raise from the boy.

"Of course that's if you're the submissive."

The boy looked up at this, one hand coming to his lips. "Submissive?"

He grinned at him, and continued in his monologue, lowering his voice somewhat, and making his breath a little shallow. "If you choose to be the dominant, then that's entirely different. Lots of people get off on being in control in normal situations, but that's just for regular sex when you're seme."

He waited patiently, knowing that a question was forthcoming.

"There…"

His grin reappeared. "There?"

He looked up to see Ryou staring at the leather outfit, almost eating it with his eyes. "There's…there's a difference?"

Bakura gently moved the top from its original place; scooting it a little closer to Ryou, hoping to arouse his interest. "Difference between what?"

The paler gulped, and bit his reddening lower lip before asking, "Between being the dominant and being…seme?"

Bakura grinned. "Of course."

He didn't elaborate, waiting for the kid to ask for more, already knowing he would. "What is the difference," the child questioned, his voice quiet, but there was clearly a hint of intrigue in that whisper.

Improvising, but knowing he was correct, the Thief King shrugged, and casually plucked at the comforter. "Well, a seme is just the person who gives pleasure, does the screwing, and is on top. The dominant is a person who is in complete control of all activities. If you're the dominant, then you call the shots. _All_ of them. You decide when the submissive is allowed to receive pleasure; if they're allowed to receive any at all."

The yami didn't realize that it had happened, but at some point the little guy had leaned forward slightly in enthrallment, his eyes locked on his dark. "The submissive can't just come to their release; they have to earn it depending on what kind of game being played. They have to ask to be touched."

Not sure when this had happened either, Bakura found himself leaning a little closer as well. "They have to plead to be kissed."

Ryou was slowly drumming his fingers over the links in the ropes of chain on the garment. The yami was off-handedly wondering if he was even aware of his actions.

"They have to beg to come."

Bakura finally noticed his slow capture. This little game of verbal stimulation was his initiating, yet somehow he found himself being snaked into the net as well.

The boys eyes were heavy lidded; glazed over with fascination and arousal. A tiny pink tongue came out to lick plump lips, making the dark wish that he could trace his tongue across that soft flesh as well. The child was sexy as hell when he was turned on. How much further could he go?

"To have that kind of power over someone else…to have them at your absolute mercy, and total control over their pleasure, yet being in complete possession of their trust…"

The Thief King felt heated, recognizing the effect his own words were having. His stomach clenched, and he felt the beginning warming sensations within his pants. The boy across from him on the bed was now leaning forward on both hands, the leather and chains get-up completely forgotten. He smirked, almost self-mocking. "Makes you hot just thinking about it doesn't it?"

There was something with that kid. There was a fire in his eyes that he didn't recognize, and there was rigidness in his posture that reminded him of a cat ready to pounce. "Hell yeah!"

Bakura found himself flat on his back, his head knocked against the headboard, and his hands flat against his thighs, stuck between his legs and…Ryou's?

The child straddled his thighs, cold hands clutching at both sides of his jaw, thin lips crushed by a pair of fleshy ones, softer than lilies.

There wasn't any movement for a moment from either party, as if Ryou had just realized what he had done. But after a second, he quickly recovered and moaned against the older teen's mouth, keeping his lips closed but lowering his body and rocking his hips against his darker half.

Who currently was stunned beyond belief. His eyes were wide, and he was shocked into a stupor as the child ground against his hips. Ryou was passionately moving their mouths about, and rocking their groins together, creating a sudden hardness between the thief's legs. This new side of the light was so…mind boggling. Yet it occurred to his swamped brain that perhaps there was always a little part of the boy was part sex-kitten. _GOD_ he should come out to play more often! He swallowed the next moan, grasping Ryou's hips and bringing them even closer, and groaning with delight when their erections rammed together. He allowed his hands to slowly slip down to cup his petit buttocks. The Thief King was in heaven. How was it that a kid who blushed during make-out scenes and covered his eyes in sex scenes in those little chick flicks he watched was so damn GOOD at this?! He carefully adjusted himself under the boy, and was about to bring his tongue in to play when suddenly the paler half leapt off of him and literally jumped to the farthest corner of the room.

Ryou shook and trembled, expecting Bakura to pounce any second. When he did make a move, the little albino let out a squeak and tried to back farther away. However his yami didn't look very displeased. His expression burned with lust and he panted heavily, but there was no sign of actual anger. "Ryou?"

The little duelist straightened himself in his little corner, wringing his hands nervously. "Y-Yes Bakura?"

His yami looked perplexed; brows drawn down into a tight knit, his eyes puzzled and his teeth nibbling on the lower lip that Ryou had so recently tasted.

"What did you do that for," The darker half asked.

His voice wasn't threatening, in any way, but it rang with curiosity.

Ryou's gaze shifted off to the side, but he answered, his voice quiet and meek. "I…I was kind of caught up in the moment…and I g-guess I…"

A silvery brow came up in impatience. "You what?"

The little one blushed hotly, and scratched the back of his head. "I thought…it might be a nice head start to my New Years resolution."

Bakura thought about this. He heard of those resolutions things. Some kind of promise that people made at the beginning of the year that they were challenged to keep the entire year, if not permanently. The whole notion seemed kind of stupid to him. But then again, if it meant that Ryou would kiss him…

"And what would yours be?"

A wry smile lifted soft lips. "To be bolder."

The thief king felt his eyebrows rise to his hairline. "YOU? You're trying to be bolder?"

Tiny hands landed on thin hips in a sulk. "Yes, I am!" In a moment completely unlike him Ryou turned his nose up and said snidely, "And judging by your reaction just now, I'd say I'm off to a flying start."

Bakura's brow rose. He didn't blush as perhaps most would, but then again, he was _Bakura_. He had no shame. "Perhaps…"

Slyly rising to his feet, the yami grinned at the boy, who had suddenly lost his false bravado and was borderline trembling as his yami approached him. They were a hairbreadth away from each other when the spirit stopped coming closer. "You want to be bolder do you?"

Nodding, the little one swallowed as if he had an orange stuck in there.

His darker half smiled cruelly and softly. He leaned down slowly making Ryou giddy with anticipation. He had just barely sampled enough of those lips when fear took over him and he backed away. Now he could taste them yet again. The essence was an intoxicating blend of spice and something that reminded him distinctly of cedar. Gods he wanted more of that flavor.

The boy rose up to his toes in anticipation, his hopes immediately dashed when his yami stopped just centimeters away from his mouth to whisper, "So wear that on Friday."

Ryou blinked, not sure he'd heard his other correctly. "What?"

Still just as close, if not somehow even closer, the spirit whispered, "Instead of that bulky sweater you picked. Wear the chain outfit."

A blush creeping its way into pale cheeks, the smaller one about had a heart attack when Bakura told him seductively, "I bet you'd look _really_ sexy in leather, Ryou. Wanna give it a shot?"

Slipping out of his eager role as an anticipatory lover just as easily as he had come into it, Ryou skittered against the wall again, attempting to avoid the unwavering stare of his other. It was almost like they were in an episode of _The Twilight Zone_. His yami wanted him to look good, he didn't blow up at him when he lost his courage during that kiss and backed away, and now he was calling him by his _name_! Maybe he should start combing the house for a pod… When he attempted to sidestep away Bakura swiftly put his hand on the wall beside him, blocking out any means of escape. Too scared to meet him eye-to-eye, the ivory-skinned boy tried to direct his gaze to a spot somewhere on his darker half's torso. A safe place between his well-formed chest and the…_very_ prominent erection that the Thief King didn't even try to conceal. "Um…I-I don't think so."

Teasingly soft, his yami trailed his fingers along the wall until they were softly gliding down the little one's arms. The hypnotic voice of the man above him caused his hair to puff a little bit in front of his eyes as he lowered his pitch. He had used that pitch just now when he was explaining the differences between a seme and a dominant. And no wonder. The deep timbre was similar to that of Yami's sexy tenor, but just different enough to be its own kind of sexy. A sexy that made his knees shake. "Aww, why not?"

He became a little disturbed at the disappointment so obvious in that voice. Those insistent fingers were now gently running over his shoulders to play at the hollow between his adams apple and collar bone. The touches were so light they almost tickled. He wriggled at the caress, attempting to focus some of his attention onto the conversation at hand. "B-because, I don't wear that sort of thing. It's not me, and I…don't think it would be entirely appropriate for a dance party."

Bakura chuckled softly, bringing his mouth down to Ryou's petit ear. "Not appropriate for a dance party huh? I suppose that turtleneck sweater of yours is just perfect for the occasion."

The little one felt his eyelids flutter when Bakura very softly nipped on the shell of the sensitive organ, his voice operating on its own accord. "I-I wouldn't feel naked in a turtleneck."

Whoops…

The spirit purred softly against his ear, his other hand wrapping around Ryou's arm completely. He muttered quietly, his voice ringing with intrigue, "you'd feel naked in leather and chains?"

He hesitated at answering this question; his voice wasn't cooperating. Instead of words, first emerged a nervous chuckle. "Well…I-I mean I wouldn't feel so…exposed."

The spirit pulled away, ignoring the little ones confused whimper, and grinned. "And what's wrong with being exposed?"

Ryou already had an answer for that one, "Well it's not very appropriate."

At this his yami laughed. "And you honestly expect that on some level this party will involve appropriate behavior?"

Ryou finally looked up to meet his dark's eyes, and immediately wished he hadn't. The fierce brown was burning; penetrating almost into his soul.

Without waiting for an answer his other continued. "Seriously, the Ishtars, Taylor and Devlin, of course there's the Pharaoh, and let's not forget yours truly…"

The albino blushed but still didn't answer. He knew that the party was probably gonna get a little…dirty, but he figured _he_ at least had a chance at maintaining some decency. Bakura smiled seductively and moved the fingers resting on his collar bone down onto his chest until they were stopped by the buttons on the shirt. His voice was low and syrupy. "So why not kid?"

Ryou shifted uncomfortably under the touch. "I just wouldn't like to."

Bakura didn't say anything for a while. He only stared at Ryou until the little one squirmed. He shrugged suddenly. "Very well."

Without another word he disappeared into the closet again, leaving his hikari to mourn the loss of their close proximity.

"So if that's really out of the question then perhaps we can do a middle ground so you're at least not dancing in one of those Ra awful sweaters."

All thoughts of their recent encounter out the window, Ryou indignantly crossed his thin arms. "What is so horrible about my sweaters?"

Shouting out from inside the closet the thief said to him as if it was obvious, "They don't show any skin!"

"And what if I like my clothes that way?"

"Tough titties."

His arms uncrossed and the boy made fists at his side, stopping just short of stomping his foot. "You know something, you might be my yami, but that doesn't make you my bo—"

"What the hell's in this big black bag?"

Pausing, the boy thought for a moment, trying to recall what his dark was talking about when he marched out of the closet again, carrying a long black dress bag. "Oh…that's got my old Halloween costumes in it."

The tomb robber looked down at the bag thoughtfully. "Hmm…" After carelessly tossing it on the bed he proceeded to unzip the bag, his eyes following the zipper as it fell. Once it was open however, his brown eyes lit up in delight. "Hahaha! What the hell kid?"

His hand dug into the black vinyl, and reemerged with a long trench coat and a black hat. "You decide to be a flasher one year?"

Ryou's face turned a deep hue of red. "Of course not! That's a detective outfit! I was Sherlock Holmes two years ago."

Deep brown eyes rolled at him. "Right," he drew out before tossing the coat to the floor.

Which promptly brought the hikari's eyes to the mess all around his room. He honestly didn't know he had that many clothes. This would be hell to clean. Even though Bakura did it, he knew he'd be the one picking everything up in the end. Although… "You know something, I think it's time you—"

"Oh no…," Bakura said, his eyes wide and horrorstruck.

"What?" Ryou asked urgently, worried at what could drive such a look to his yami's face.

"Okay, TELL me this isn't what I think it is!"

Puzzled, the shorter teen waited until the garment was fully out of the bag and being held up in disgust by his dark. He groaned and put his hand over his eyes in anguish. "Yes, that's a Cher costume; Bob Mackie feathers and all[1."

"Ryou…," Bakura said, his voice stricken with mocking shame.

"We wanted to pair up that year okay!?" He snapped.

Bakura's eyebrow rose. "We?"

Absentmindedly waving his hand in the air, the boy tried to remember how he ever got roped into being Cher for Halloween. "The whole group. We wanted our outfits to come in pairs. Tristan and Duke were a horse and cowboy---in that order---and they were basically walking-talking sexual innuendo's the entire night.

"Yugi and Yami were Batman and Robin. It might sound kind of weird, but they pulled it off really cutely.

"Serenity and Mokuba were a nurse and patient. Between two over-protective brothers we weren't allowed to make any comments about that…

"Téa and Mai were Velma and Roxie…," at the look of appalled terror his face Ryou said wryly, "believe me it looked even worse than it sounds. And Joey and I were Sonny and Cher."

His eyes wide with sardonic humor, Bakura said, "I'll bet you were just _fabulous_," he said with an air of haughtiness, "at flipping your hair, weren't you hikari?"

Forgetting for a second who he was talking to, Ryou said, "You like that you should have seen our awful karaoke stab at _I Got You Babe_."

Dropping the costume in his hysterics, the almighty Thief King fell in an undignified mass on the bed, clutching his stomach in gales of frenzied laughter. The white-haired boy let out a loud sigh. "Come on, it's not that funny."

"Oh-oh yes it is!" Tears leaked out of his eyes as he snickered. Twisted onto his stomach, the spirit put his chin on his hands. "So how did you manage to hide all that white hair?"

Ryou pursed his lips for a moment. How _did_ he conceal his hair? He distinctly remembered having a hard time choosing which method he would use to go about the whole thing. Wig, bought or homemade; dyed, permanent or temporary. "I'm pretty sure I used that week-long hair dye, and I used Mai's straightener."

At these words the sharp jaw fell, and dark brown eyes widened to the size of tea cup saucers, and he launched himself up to all fours. "What?!"

The boy took a step back, startled at the reaction. "What, what?"

Bakura looked infuriated. "Why the hell did you dye your hair? Why couldn't you just get a goddamn wig?"

A spit of anger emerged from Ryou, and before he could stop himself a tirade came from his mouth. "Excuse me, but I don't think I asked for your opinion. It was up to me what I wanted to do, and despite the fact that you seem to think you're the boss around here, it still is my choice whether I do or don't want to do something. I wanted to get rid of my revolting white hair for a while, and after the third or fourth shower everything washed out, so why does it matter? What difference should it make to you anyway? Nobody had even heard of you at the time so you don't have to worry about having an "effect" on me!"

His breath heaved in and out for a while as he stared down at his dark. He felt invigorated…suddenly proud of himself. He should stand up to Bakura more often! Wait…

The Thief King had a brow arched over one brown eye gleaming darkly, and his mouth was drawn down into a tight line. Oh no…

"B-Bakura, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bl—"

"You shouldn't be ashamed of your hair."

"I kind of misinter—what?"

Silently, he made his way off the bed and back over to Ryou, where he brought up his hand making the boy immediately close his eyes. But all he felt was a soft push to his hair.

He opened his eyes again, and found Bakura gently using the back of his hand to stroke his hair. "You have lovely hair hikari. Don't be ashamed of it. And don't call it revolting."

A rosy blush came to pale cheeks at the softly-spoken demand. "Y-yes Bakura."

Mockingly, yet in some bizarre way alluring, the darker half patted his cheek. "Good boy."

Once again leaving his side, Bakura leaned over the open bag, now only containing two remaining costumes. "What's this?"

A little distracted the short teen rose up to his tip-toes to look in the bag. "Oh…that's when I decided to be a gangster."

The tomb robber looked the costume up and down, from beanie to sneakers then over at his light. "That's like the total opposite of who you are."

Still thinking of his dark's mixed-compliment, Ryou scratched his cheek with the long nail at his index finger. "Well, that is the basic idea for Halloween."

With a shrug, the hip-hop clothes were dropped onto the bed, and the black bag ruffled as its last remaining contents were removed.

"No way!"

Light brown eyes rolled heavenward. "Now what?"

Yanking up the garment from the bag by the hanger, Bakura grinned at the costume. A French Sailor. Black pants and boots, a belt with a big gold buckle, a shirt with horizontal white and navy blue stripes, all topped off with a red scarf and a black beret.

"This is awesome!"

His mouth open in a derisive gasp, the shorter duelist leaned back with a hand on his chest. "Oh my! You mean that there's actually something I own that you approve of?"

A sharp nose wrinkled. "Shut up kid! Seriously, where did you get this?"

Ryou shrugged casually again and walked over to stroke the silk scarf. "My sister made it for me. I was really into traveling that year so she made me a sailor's costume."

Giving the outfit a more perspective glance, the older teen said constructively, "This looks too big for you."

Shrugging again, the boy took it out of Bakura's hands and laid it flat on the sheets to give it a more thorough look. "It probably still is. She was a good seamstress, but she didn't take my measurements beforehand because she wanted to surprise me."

The yami crossed his arms, pausing for a minute before he broke out into a grin and snatched the costume off the bed and running into the closet. "Hey!"

Door slamming behind him the yami proceeded to make a loud racket behind the closed door. "Bakura what are you doing? If you're up to anything evil in there---"

"Chill out! Give me a minute…"

Ryou thought about it, realizing there wasn't much evil that could be done to a Halloween costume. But this was Bakura he was talking about, the guy would surely think of something. "I swear yami, if you don't come out this minute---"

"I did already!"

The albino boy lurched back. "Huh?"

"Come out! I did already; six months ago!"

The hikari rolled his eyes at the pun and shouted, "Bakura! I mean it, you get your butt out---"

The door burst open just as quickly as it was shut, and the boy's jaw dropped at the sight displayed before him.

His dark struck a pose, one hand on his hip, and his leg sticking out while he puckered his lips. "How do I look?"

After a moment, he burst out laughing, nearly doubling over. His yami was wearing his French Sailor costume; including boots, scarf, and beret. His laughter carried on for at least a minute.

Frowning at the little one he turned to look at himself in the mirror. "What are you laughing at here hikari? I look hot!"

Standing up straight, the named wrinkled his nose with a goofy smile. "Are you kidding? I mean, I guess the shirt and pants look pretty good," and that wasn't a lie. The pants rested tightly on his skin, covering over every curve, while the tight striped shirt outlined every muscle on the chiseled torso. "But the scarf and the beret? It's just…too over-the-top."

Skeptically, Bakura eyed his reflection again, and removed the items. Once gone from the view, he tilted his chin and lowered his lashes seductively at himself. Ryou had to bite his lip to restrain a smart-ass comment. "Aw yeah…I look _smokin'_!"

The teen rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Why don't you wear that this Friday then? You'll knock them dead."

The thief king smirked. "Not a bad idea."

Brown eyes widened. "What? Are you serious? Bakura, I was _kidding_."

The yami's eyes didn't avert as he continued to review his reflection. "I'm not. Look at me, I'm a knock out."

'_And not a little self-absorbed at the moment,_' he thought privately. "Well, do what you want. It'll be worth a good laugh."

For the first time, his dark paused in his reflecting, only to get that far-away look in his eyes. He slowly turned back around to the younger one and began a deliberate strut back to where the boy was standing. Unlike before, Ryou didn't waver. He stood still, and waited as his yami approached. "Well, if it's so funny, I'll make a deal with you."

Ryou was inwardly intrigued, but he wasn't about to give his sadistic other anymore satisfaction. So on the outside he just raised an eyebrow.

"I'll put on this little sailor thing, if you wear that."

The teen was confused. "That?" He paused and his other pointed to the bondage gear on the bed, and as something clicked in his mind, he quickly looked back, the tomb robber a lot closer than he remembered. "No! No way, forget it!" He emphasized his point by slashing his hands back and forth in the air. He said, "I'm not that desperate for a good laugh. It's what you liked so much in the first place so just stop trying to get me to wear th-that…_thing_," he said with obvious distaste as he gestured over to the ensemble.

Bakura's eyes turned into something mildly…threatening. He suddenly grabbed Ryou around the neck with one hand, causing the little albino to whimper. He pushed back, not with any real violence with definite intention. Once again the boy was pinned against the wall, forced to look up helplessly at the Thief King. "Aw, come on little hikari. Is it really such a sin to look hot for just one night?"

Before he could even think about responding his yami continued speaking, except he added that deep brogue back into his voice and he was pressing his knee between Ryou's legs. His eyes squeezed shut he begrudgingly listened to the hypnotic voice. "Or is that what you like about it? The sin." The dark brought himself down, then slowly back up again, grinding his knee at the locale between supple thighs. The boy tried desperately to hold back a response, biting his lip to restrain himself.

The older grinned at the reaction that the kid probably wasn't even aware he was giving. Curious he shoved his knee up again, and this time Ryou didn't try to hold back the throaty moan that spilled from his lips, the sound evoking a similar reaction from his captor. "Care to reconsider?"

Delicate eyelids fluttered open and the glittering brown eyes were fogged for a moment before they suddenly became lucid again, combined with something akin to…determination? "On one condition."

He hid his surprise. It appeared he really was trying to be bolder. On normal occasions he would never attempt to bargain. "Condition?"

"Yes." The snowy-haired boy said, confirming instead of elaborating.

"And what would that be," he asked almost impatiently.

The albino looked pointedly at the floor behind them. "You clean up this mess you made. And you put all of the clothes back in the closet _properly_."

Bakura's jaw dropped, along with the hand pressed to Ryou's throat. "Excuse me, what? I don't _clean_ hikari."

Softly rubbing his throat said hikari shrugged, walking towards the door. "Very well then. I already told you I'm not dressing in that thing otherwise."

His eyes actually widened at the thought of missing such an opportunity. "Wait a minute."

His light paused at the doorway, his hair swaying as he ceased his steps.

Very, very reluctantly, and very, very quietly, the tomb robber whispered, "deal."

There was a visible pause, and the young one nodded. "Okay." And he shut the door behind him.

Bakura grinned. '_Hell yeah!_' But then he looked around dismally at the obscene amounts of clothes on the bed and floor. He started to smirk as he realized---

"And do NOT put any of my clothes into the shadow realm or the deal's off."

'_Damnit to hell!_'

Little did he know, on the other side of the door was his hikari, positively beaming with self-pride and punching his fists into the air.

**I apologize for the horrendous wait, but I was trying to make this chapter have all the events until the party. So instead of a much longer wait, I'm putting up one set of characters "day per chapter." Thank you for your patience; trust me this has been my top priority story. Please review and let me know if you like it/what you think. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Thanks for reading!**

**1 – In reference to her Oscar gown where she wore a feathered headdress.**

**WL,**

**Magz.**


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